Hospitality Comes First

Local Bed & Breakfasts Do Well Most of the Time

by Michael Barrett

Across the country and around the world, the travel and hospitality industries have taken a beating since Sept. 11, and the same can be applied to our neck of the woods — but with one reservation: Stressed-out people are seeking places to get away to and unwind. And what better place to do that but in a bed and breakfast, of which Skagit County has its share.

“Many people aren’t traveling long distances right now,” states Sherrill Tyler who runs The Heron In La Conner. “They’re going short distances to find ways to relax.”

“In one way it might have helped,” puts in Carol Whited, who with husband Peter recently opened La Conner Maison in town. “People who live nearby want to get away for a while. Time is too short.”

“The first week (after the World Trade Center attack), two customers called at the last minute for rooms,” recalls Peter Goldfarb, owner of The White Swan Guest House on Fir Island. “One had planned to go to New York but couldn’t get a flight out, so they stayed with me.”

But Goldfarb says this was an isolated incident for him. “Since then, it’s been pretty dismal; it’s the slowest September and October I’ve ever had,” he admits.

Linda Benson, who owns Whispering Firs Bed and Breakfast with her husband Vic in south Mount Vernon, says she had a couple from the Midwest cancel after Sept. 11.

Sally Brummett, owner with husband John of Cascade Mountain Inn near Concrete, also had disaster strike — big time. “We had people who couldn’t get here from the East Coast and one couple from Ontario, Canada, were booked for six days and had to cancel. That hurt,” she laments.

One inn that hasn’t suffered much is Colonial Manor just outside Mount Vernon on McLean Road. Owner Bonnie Anderson attributes her good fortune to business travelers. “I cater to business people and they’re still traveling, so it’s not as bad as it could be,” she observes.

 

Fall holidays usually quiet

As in years past, this year’s holiday season likely won’t generate much business for the bed-and-breakfast industry, except in isolated cases where families need extra room for visiting house guests.

“People who have family in the area and need more room — or people who don’t want their relatives to stay with them — use us,” quips Carleton Manning, who with his wife Creamy operates the Blue Rose Bed and Breakfast in the historic part of downtown Anacortes. “People in the area know you, or of you. We’re within walking distance of most things.”

“I usually book the holidays,” says Theresa Goldston, who runs Samish Point by the Bay. “Some are repeat customers and they book a year in advance. We’ve had people come for Christmas three years in a row, and I decorate the cottage for them.”

Most of those surveyed, however, say the holiday season is their slowest time of year, although they try to stay open and accommodating. Being upriver, Brummett says she depends on traffic doing the Cascade Loop, and when the North Cascades Highway closes for the year in November, much of her business dries up. Tyler promotes ladies’ retreats and mother-daughter shopping sprees in La Conner as a way to get more people into The Heron. Indeed, Benson also likes to cater to business retreats at Whispering Firs, which is close by Interstate 5 and only a few miles from downtown Mount Vernon.

“The motif of our establishment would remind a person of a lodge, so it adapts nicely to the holiday feeling, and the large dining/living-room area also lends itself well for business retreats, which we’ve had,” she explains.

Believe it or not, most of the business the local inns take in over the year comes from Western Washington and British Columbia, say those surveyed. During Tulip Festival — traditionally the bed and breakfasts’ busiest period — and during the months of July through September, they might host visitors from every corner of the globe. Typical was Goldston’s list:

“About 60 percent of my business is local, from King and Snohomish counties,” she declares. “I do get people from Europe — a lot of them travelers to Tulip Festival. People have come from Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Kansas — and add California. But the majority are locals.”

Adds Tyler: “Lately, we had a couple from Switzerland and the same day one from Bothell.”

Some even come from Skagit County, say the operators.

“I’d say 10 percent of my business is local, and local businesses use it,” says Anderson.

“We’ve had people from Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon, just getting away,” avers Brummett.

“We get some from Whatcom County, some from Skagit — upriver and Mount Vernon,” puts in Manning.

Not only do local guests come for a romantic get-away or stress-free timeout, many are involved with weddings, birthdays, workshops or daylong retreats. One young woman visited La Conner Maison to prepare for her wedding. Occasionally, guests come as local winners of auctioned getaways.

 

Big turnover of late

A sizable number of bed-and-breakfast inns have closed in recent months, not as a result of Sept. 11 but because of the burnout factor, and a few, such as La Conner Maison, have opened since last spring. For the most part, the turnover has not affected other operators, they say, partly because they work so closely together.

“We have a local Tulip Valley (Bed and Breakfast) Association,” Goldfarb explains. “We want to make the customer find us. We founded the group so we can accommodate different kinds of people in different situations. Who can take pets? Who has the extra bed? We help one another.”

Most agreed the county has enough bed and breakfasts now — except at Tulip Festival time in April and in August, when the demand is huge.

“There are times of the year when we have fewer customers than we would like but other times, like during the Tulip Festival, when we just wish we had another B&B handy,” says Benson.

“I’d say we are oversaturated,” Goldston contends.

“In East Skagit County, we have enough,” Brummett puts in. “Downriver there are many, but we don’t get too much business from them. We’re 24 miles away.”

The right accommodations and price keep some inns hopping, if not all the time, at least during the spring and summer. But in all cases, customer service is number one.

“The key is to make them think you’re treating them special, even though you’re treating them like you do all your guests,” says Anderson. “It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had in my life, but I like it.”

“We try to stay warm and welcoming — doing the little things, like putting candy on the beds or offering champagne for special occasions,” Brummett adds.

The Mannings have a niche of their own: “Good old Southern hospitality — we’re only doing what we know,” Carleton, from Mississippi, says of his and Creamy’s special service.

Benson, like most of the others, recognizes you have to accommodate each guest individually.

“I’m always asking: What can I do to make the customer more comfortable? It’s different for different folks; some like to visit, others want solitude, and still others would enjoy a bowl of popcorn and games by the fireplace or a hike up the mountain with the dog,” she states, adding about the industry in general:

“We have genuine hospitality, which can’t be imitated.”